Poultry watering device



1952 J. E. MCDERMOTT ET AL 2,618,237

POULTRY WATERING DEVICE Filed April 9, 1949 L PIE| I H WV/Wm m w E %m NV m Mr a Z Patented Nov. 18, 1952 PoUL'riiYvvATERING DEVICE attteatianxstnt, 1949; seam... tests lc'lai'in.

,, flfhis invention relates toa watering device for "fdwls.

Qr'ie chief object of thfe'p'res efnt invention is to prevent fo wl fromcontaminating, feta," the" area immediately about ajwatering device. UAnotherohief object of; 'the"present invention jis to incorporatethe'invention infsuchfmianner jjthat in the shipment of fowls water w nnot be los spilled e njt 'ueh the, s ppin crat e'be turned on itssideforturned upside'down in the initial'p'lacement thereof inthetransports ve e.

It: has heretofore been the experience in the shipment of expensivepedigreed fowl that due to le se W te lur ate nd/ r sloppae the birdsupon arrivalat the destination were weak, sick or dead.

Even if water was not lostydue to'j tipping "and handling of the crate,the; "birds with the usual Wa n i r would dri .ivaterabout th same andthus wet downfthe"litter niaking" it so y, etc. Soaked seeds billed 'into jthis 'mess help to further damage the birds. "A"few blow fliescomplete the damage. 1

Shipments upon amvncontained many maggots and the mass, was seethingtherewith. -In a few days the'birds,"-as' a'resultbf eating same, weredead of Limberneck. I I

The present invention insures, inshipment, an adequate amount of water'at all I times. It also prevents contamination of surroundings andinsures clean, dry and sanitary surroundings. .Qther obiects'andfeaturesofj the invention will beset forth more zan hereinafter. h I[The full nature of the invention will be; understood from theaccompanying drawings and the 'following description and claimg p r v"In the drawings Fig. 1 isa l-ohgitudiiral ec- ,tional view ofone'embodiment pf the invention incorporated ina' yard 'or' run,watering device, parts being shown in the operative position.

Fig. 2'is a similar view ofthe valve portion of suchembodiment'andinsthejclosed position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar, to Fig. 1 and of a modified form of theinvention, the valve being illustratedin cut-61ferewseapbs tie I q Fig.4is a'vi'w' similar to Fig. Sand of a slight- 1y modified form of theinvention, the valve bein illustrated in the supplying or open position.

Fig. 5 is a central sectional view of a portion of a fowl shipping cratewith the shipping embodiment of the invention applied thereto.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, I 0 indicates a tubular member, openat the top and closed at the bottom ll. Herein member In is apertured"at 'I'Zfand disposedtherein is, valve stem [3 mounting interiorly ofsaid member the sealing valve [4. Stem I3 is rigidat its exterior "endwith an outwardly directed leaf spring'fS secured' at one' end tothememberexteri'or.

I-Ierein the bottom I Iiis extended and has upturned sides It which ares'pacedirom'm'ember 1 |0 so that'cover I1, having handle l8 andelongated skirt I9 may be telescoped over "the member Hi. In suchaction, after the tank (member 10) has been filled, the skirt bears uponspring jl'5flor stem l3 'to'open fvalve'lt permitting tank contents tobecome'subje'ct to pressure controlled discharge. I Formedlintegralwith'said rim I6 is a chamber forming wall gfl'that'iinr'nediatelyadjacent aperture l2 jis'apertured a 's'a't 2]. Ext-ending downwardly'and inwardly from the upper edge of wall is the return draineoverportion'22 having central opening 23 'ofapp'reciable area.

The disposition andslope of said cover wall is such and the distance ofopening 23 from the wall 20 is suchth-atthe fowl in drinking must h'avethe breast incontact with wall 20. The fowl "after billing waterelevates neck and head so :tliatthe neck is *disposedat an angle offGOdegrees. Thefwater runs down the neck and into -the chicken and's'urplus"water runs 0d the bill andjdrops into'the funnel-liketop 22'for'return to the'drinking vessel portion. Thus thefarea in theimmediate vicinity of the device always is -dryand sanitary. Y v v thefowls' drink the water fromthe funnel covered vessel portion, sameisauto naticallyieplenished from tank Ill- The poultryrn'an 'd-a'ily'or'so need only remove the cover andrfill the tank. In this operationinitial cover removal removes'the' constraint upon spring 15 so that itis efiective to close thevalve' during the tank refilling thuspreventing the overflowing of the water from the 'wateringfunnel'covered vessel.

"In Fig, S'there is illustr'ated'ainodified form of the invention.Herein is'a tubular member wi mi s t m; 3. ihev s e t 32 therein.lThfltOD is closed 'by"skirted" cover"33 having handle 34. v I Bottom 35is extended laterally as's'liijwn and providedwith upturned"wa1l'36. Theupper edge thereof is provided with funnel-like cover 31 having centra1opening 38. Thus there is provided two lower chambers and member 30includes aperture 39 providing free communication therebetween.

A stem 40 disposed in aperture 32 mounts a conical valve 4| beneathfalse bottom 3|. Said stem at its lower end mounts float 42. As thebirds drink water from the funnel covered container the float falls,opening valve 4|. When the tank replenishes the water supply, the waterlevel rises therewith and the float also rises to close valve 4| and cutoff the water supply.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 4 wherein the embodiment is closelysimilar to that shown in Fig. 3. However, herein the funnel-coveredcontainer is elongated as shown. Hence, all parts are similarlydesignated except the two which have different dimensions and these aredesignated by Prime designations.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 5. In this figure, 44 indicates onewall of a shipping crate, 45 another wall, and 46 a bottom which may besolid if desired. The wall 45 has opening 41 therein so that the fowlbeing shipped can obtain access to the drinking vessel.

Herein the vessel includes a cylindrical side wall 48 and disposed nearthe bottom thereof is the bottom 49 that has a threaded, inwardlydirected tubular extension 59 closable by a threaded plug 56. The upperedge of the cylindrical wall 49 is provided with a downwardly andinwardly directed funnel-like forming cover 52 of invertedfrusto-conical conformation which defines an opening 53 of limiteddiameter. The diameter of the opening is substantially less than thediameter of said cover as shown in Fig. 5.

The volume above the opening 53 and within the vessel and designated bythe numeral 54 is sufficient so that if the entire crate be inverted nowater will be lost from the vessel provided however the vessel is filledonly up to the opening. Also if the crate is turned upon any one side,the volume of the water when it flows to the then lowermost portion ofthe vessel will not flow from the opening 53. Also in the cooking ortilting of the crate in its handling, to wit, removal from the truck andtransporting to the express car, etc., and disposition therein andsubsequent removal therefrom, will not lose any of the water content.

There is provided upon the exterior of this drinking vessel a resilientbearing element 55. There is provided upon the exterior of this drinkingvessel a hook-like resilient member 56. The poultryman in preparing thecrate for shipment places the fowl in the crate, fills the drinkingvessel with water up to the opening, inverts the vessel and then forcesthehook-like member upon the wall 45 at the opening 4'! so that thevesse1 is frictionally gripped thereto. and will be retained thereonunless it is forcibly removed therefrom as in long shipments so thattheexpress attendant can remove the drinking vessel from'the crate,refill it it and then replace it.

In all forms of the invention the funnel-like cover forthe drinkingvessel proper is of such character that the fowl cannot dribble wateraround the outside of the vessel and what water is dribbled from thebill always drains back to the vessel. With thi invention birds may. beshipped and arrive at their destination in perfect health, etc, and notin the condition initially set forth herein. i

The shipping form of this container by expos- '4 ing only a small areaof water surface restricts water loss incident to evaporation.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detailin the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be consideredas illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein as well as others which willreadily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all areconsidered to be within the broad scope of the invention, referencebeing had to the appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

The combination with a poultry shipping crate having an opening formedthrough one wall thereof adjacent the bottom of said crate to permitpoultry within said crate to extend their heads therethrough, of apoultry watering device comprising a cylindrical side wall, a bottomwall and a cover, said cover being of inverted frusto-conicalconformation having its upper extremity merged with and connected to theupper edge of said side wall, the lower edge of said cover defining adrinking opening of substantially less diameter than the diameter ofsaid cover, said vessel being so formed that its volume within saidcover above said opening is at least equal to its volume below saidopening, the bottom wall of said vessel being provided with a waterdrainage opening, closure means engaging said drainage opening, andmeans to detachably secure said vessel to said crate in substantiallyhorizontal position, said last mentioned means comprising a hook typeelement connected to the side wall of said vessel and extendingoutwardly therefrom, said element being adapted to be inserted throughthe opening in said crate into engagement with the inner wall thereofbelow said crate opening, and a resilient bearing member connected tosaid vessel side wall below said element and adapted to engage the outersurface of said crate wall.

JOHN E. MCDERMOTT. WALTER E. GAINEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 341,211 Beazley May 4, 18861,012,589 Blumberger Dec. 26, 1911 1,029,320 Savosick June 11, 19121,159,190 Derr -1 Nov. 2, 1915 1,215,417 Scott Feb. 13, 1917 1,758,674Morton May 13, 1930 1,928,103 Hill Sept. 26, 1933 2,075,739 McFarlaneMar. 30, 1937 2,086,341 Tolley July 6, 1937 2,254,584 Tor'nell Sept. 21941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,793 Great Britain Aug. 5,1909 248,257 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1926

